The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1887-12-02

up sSss5 logs mighty thick. wien J.
brings sanetherl that way, We know,
that makes it bad. Wsls' We worked
nighban hoyr tryin'As TO start her from
the shore. bat 'twan' no use. an
finally lin said:
s'Twon,t do to, leave this go on.s
We've got to work IN the middle,
Who'Ago.w with meH an hesstarted for
the middle O the river. ~ ],
swell, l see the boys, all look at
me. They knowed wel enough that l,
was the bestsnaan tosgoEI9knowed it
too. butsIthought o'aypu an waited
q minute. But the other fellers said
they would not, so Invent.
"Fore Igot 70 where jim. was, / see
thatif We did ssart IT. from che mid
.dlssws'd likely have, tocome down on
the D ITO the BOOM an / knowed it.
wasa mighty risky job. But twas
the only way to the mills, an some.
bodyGhad to do it, 80 Jim an 1
worksdyt the best. VIZ knowed for a hall
an hour. ~" s
At last, we started it, an sec
there was just a chance to, get to
shore. Jim was Just ahead OF
me, an we was 1goin' as we
could, when the thing gave way, an
we were sailin' down the river at the
rate OF fifty miles an hour.
eve hadn't gone a quarter OF mile
afore the log Twas on turned an in
steppin' round one OF the spikes on
my boots snapped off and lleslipped'
in. | hung on to my pole, an made
a bridge. tween the logs, an ! was
nstyciimbin' up when another log
struck the end OF it an splinteredit
into bites. i tell back an thought I.
was. clean under, but the two logs
Just claniped me BY the neck, :
"You may know how quick they
| come together by KNOWN they didn't
Craze my shoulders as idN, but they
caught my neck Safore my head got
nnder4&ateK..s ButsquicG as twas, I
had time, as / see 'em comm, to hope
you was prayin' for me. 1t didn't
look like anything else could save me,
for 1 knowed when the logs come to-
Eeetheethsysd crus h my head like an
egg.sheli. y
&oh, Jackl"Se
Poor Alice was white with horror
and trembling like a leaf.
Eyes, dear" said Jack, drawing her
closer, 81 thought o, you, an felt
fufighty sorry for little Jack. Fer l
knowed Neutrality-suspicious. yergreat,
rough, isnorant-"
.tHushs please don't!" and Alice's'
thand was on his lips.
"Well, well. l didn't have time to.
think'o much. fer I felt the logs was
chokin' me, an yet | knowed some.
thing was keepin'em about four inches
apart. What twas l didn't know
until aftefward. My arms was free
under me, anil tried to pull the logs
apart, but bless ye, they was q million
pound pressure, an l nights well ha'
tried to pull up a tree an l began to
give up, when / see somethin' fly
through the air an light on q log nigh
me. an, l heard Jim call out Help!
Hefp!'
He mightas we'll ha' hollered for the
stars for help as to holler to the fel-
lers on the shore, for they couldn't
get to us then, an knowed It. But it
gave me hope to hear his voice SO
near by. I was bothered, though. to
know how he could be so near, fer just
afore / slipped j see there was q clean
place nigh thirty feet between us. t.t-
"The boys said afterward that he
jumped q t%ifteen-foot gap. l don't
know but he did. but l never see no
such things done. Anyway, he was
he was workin' away like mad. He
I pried one log out and got it across
the end O. the one I'd been on, and
then he pried open the two that held
me, and got between EN-. Alice, twas
Imore'n any three men on the river'd
lido, but he did it alone, Jim an me
was friends-I reckon now we always
will be.
"Well, as soon as he'd done this,
'twere easy for me to climb out, with
a little help from him, an | was all
right again-an' I'm blamed if l didn't
Ehave TO steady Jim two or three min,
utes, he was thut weak. =,
"Twas easy enough after that to
reach the shore, when we came to the
slack water above thedam. But afore
] left it l looked to see whatSsit was
Fthat kept it fnr enough from the
other to snpeme. ! And sAlice, it was
an ak. Some Teller had stuck his ak
into that log and left it there. Likely
the log had turned over an he had
lost it. Anyway, there it was, right
close to where my neck was, an the
edge$was in a knot that was hard
enough to keep it from crushin' right
in.n k58t I
"Jack, l want that AK" said Alice.
looking up suddenly, and smiling
through her tears.
t1ekffnwed you would, darling, anil
brought it home for you" and the big
logger went to the door and brought
arust covered AK, which Alice took pos;
4 session of. D. ~ " 4 49,
To this dsy that rusty ax hangs on
!. the wall lust ever sAlice,s eewine.ma,